11/15/11

On my fridge sits many a recipe paper cut outs attached to various magnets. These are recipes that I need to try and also kick up. Some recipes have been there for years, some even longer. And with each new place we move to they come with only to get placed back up on the fridge to sit there.....forever. Well the other day I finally was able to take one down. One that came from a cut out from King Arthur catalog. A peanut butter-chocolate chunk cookie. King Arthur has fabulous recipes, and I'm so glad that they add them into their website and catalogs. Just like Barefoot Contessa, King Arthur has recipes you can trust and count on; tested, tried and true. So I didn't do that much to their original recipe, I only added on extra butter, some baking powder, used a double dutch cocoa powder (for more chocolately flavor) and of course added in the shortbread chunks. Why? I just knew that these cookies would be nice and soft and I just had to add in a subtle layer of 'crunch'. OK and more butter flavor too.If you make these make sure to read all my cook notes. OK?

Cook Notes: I used Trader Joe’s mini pb cups in this, but next time I will use Reese’s PB cups. The trader joe ones were not that peanut buttery for my taste. I just wanted a bit more peanut butter taste and I know that Reese’s will do it just right.As for the shortbread chunks, use a good quality shortbread; one that is nice, buttery, crispy and thick like Lorna Doone.As for the dutch process cocoa, I used a double dutch for that extra chocolate richness, but regular dutch process is just as fine too.I made these cookies large using a regular size ice cream scoop. You can make them smaller, but whatever size you use I highly recommended using an ice cream scoop (any size) to scoop them onto baking sheet as the dough is very sticky.Do the cookies freeze well? No.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, dutch cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, peanut butter, and both sugars.Beat till light and fluffy. Then add in the egg, vanilla extract, and milk. Mix until smooth.Next add in the dry ingredients and mix till just incorporated.Then by hand, add in the peanut butter cups and shortbread chunks using a spatula.Place in fridge and chill at least half hour, longer if it’s humid and/or hot outside.When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out even sizes of dough onto baking sheet, making sure to place doughballs at least 2 inches apart from each other. Cookies don’t spread that much.Bake 13-14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.The cookies will be soft to the touch. But as they cool they do firm up a bit. I know you might be tempted to overbake them, please don’t.

about vanilla sugar blog

Unique eats, creative recipes, as simple as possible.What drives me to create? Seeing dishes in restaurants, meals created on TV, recipes in cookbooks/online, and I always think to myself why didn’t they add this or why did they leave out that? Love to question, love to research, and love to learn about combining different flavors and textures in recipes.Recipe creations please email: vanillasugarblog@aol.com